Darren Turner: Licence to thrill

AUTOSPORT columnist and works Aston Martin driver Darren Turner looks back on the recent Le Mans Series race in Portugal, and prepares for a 24-hour race of a different kind

I had been to the new Algarve Circuit to test prior to Le Mans, so as a team we were familiar with the circuit. I'd been there with Nissan as well, so I'd done a reasonable amount of laps before we arrived for the race weekend.

But when you're testing, you're just driving round by yourself. There is, at most, a handful of cars and you hardly ever get any traffic. The track is a whole different ball game when it's full of cars, particularly in the Le Mans Series with such a big speed difference.